In November 2004, the National Museum of Australia announced the acquisition of an important and comprehensive collection of pastoral and domestic objects. In researching one of the intriguing objects in the collection — a family medicine chest — a personal story emerges of health and illness, set against a broader backdrop of medicine and treatment in colonial Australia.

William Dargie's celebrated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most recognisable examples of twentieth-century Australian portraiture. In examining its commission, creation and the dissemination of reproductions, this image emerges as a potent piece of material culture significant in the promotion of popular monarchism in mid-twentieth century Australia.